Tag Futebol

Former Australia Test opener takes over from Trevor Bayliss after three years in role

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jan-2025Justin Langer, the former Australia men’s head coach, has been appointed as Trevor Bayliss’s replacement at London Spirit.Langer, who played 105 Tests for Australia between 1993 and 2007, coached the squad from 2018 until 2022, including during a memorable 2-2 drawn Ashes series in 2019. Australia won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup under his guidance in 2021, before going on to win the Ashes 4-0 on home soil.He has a strong affinity with Lord’s, the home ground of London Spirit, having played for Middlesex as an overseas player between 1998 and 2000. He also became an Honorary Life Member of MCC in 2015.He has previously coached Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash and is currently head coach of Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League.”I’m thrilled to be appointed to this role with London Spirit, and I’m excited to experience The Hundred,” Langer said. “I’m looking forward to being a part of the tournament later this year, and working with such a talented group of players and coaches.”London Spirit General Manager, Fraser Stewart, added: “We are delighted to have secured the services of a highly respected and talented coach in Justin Langer. He excelled in the interview process, which took place before Christmas, and came out on top in what was a hugely competitive field.”Justin has a real passion for the aims and objectives that we have for the team, in seeing London Spirit competing at the right end of table, and for The Hundred title. He has an impressive CV in coaching and we are thrilled to have him on board.”Bayliss, who left last month after three years in the role, had replaced the late Shane Warne as Spirit’s head coach ahead of the 2022 season, when Eoin Morgan captained the squad to the play-offs. However, the team won only three games and lost 11 in the last two years since Morgan’s retirement.Bayliss’ side were particularly poor in 2024, losing seven of their eight matches with a scrappy three-wicket win over Welsh Fire the only exception. Their top picks at the draft, Shimron Hetmyer and Andre Russell, managed 216 runs between them, and Dan Lawrence was unable to get them out of a rut as captain.The Spirit’s struggles in the men’s Hundred were only emphasised by the success of their women’s team, who won the title for the first time under Heather Knight and Ashley Noffke. Noffke has since signed an extension for the 2025 edition, though has lost assistant Ali Maiden to Birmingham Phoenix.The appointment comes after the deadline for the Hundred’s second-round bids for private investment, with London Spirit expected to
have attracted the highest offers. Interested bidders for a 49% stake are understood to include at least two IPL franchises in Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants, as well as the Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer. Last month, MCC appointed the former energy executive, Robert Lawson, as their new chief executive and secretary.

Theekshana and Axar’s injuries leave both teams with a problem to solve ahead of the big clash

Sreshth Shah16-Sep-20233:41

Manjrekar: A fit Iyer will have to wait his turn

Big picture: Watch out for spin and rain

The continent’s crown jewel is on the line, but the two teams fighting for it come into the final with different motivations. India have not lifted any multi-team trophy since their Asia Cup win in 2018, and are desperate to know how that feels. Sri Lanka, ODI ranking No. 8, want to drill it in that despite making the ODI World Cup only through the qualifiers, they are more than just dark horses.Hosts Sri Lanka possess the template to defeat India, because they very nearly did so last week. They had bowled India out for 213 – all ten wickets taken by spinners, including four by a part-time offspinner – and were favourites at the halfway stage. But their top-order let them down. Rattled by India’s pace, they could never really recover.With a slow, turning surface expected for Sunday, Sri Lanka’s best bet would be to follow that bowling plan, topped up with a better batting show. Going their way is a strong performance in a challenging chase against Pakistan in the virtual semi-final, but that was a batting-friendly surface. They will sorely miss the injured Maheesh Theekshana, a wicket-taking threat at every stage of an ODI innings.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

India come into the final on the back of a defeat, but with key players resting for the Bangladesh game, that result may not be of much significance. Every batter in their first XI has at least one big score while their bowlers look in great rhythm. Their balance, though, will be tested with the allrounder Axar Patel also ruled out with a hamstring niggle.All that planning will matter for very little if the weather doesn’t hold up. A shortened match or a washout are both possible since weather forecasts predict rain on Sunday (and Monday, the reserve day).

Form guide

India LWWWW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
Sri Lanka WLWWW

In the spotlight: Mendis, Thakur and Washington

Kusal Mendis has been enjoying a purple patch as Sri Lanka’s No. 3. With 253 runs in five games, he is the second-highest run-scorer of the series and his three fifties have come in wins over Pakistan (91), Bangladesh (50), and Afghanistan (92). A good score against India – ideally a century having been dismissed in the nineties twice – is the only thing missing from his Asia Cup 2023 CV.Will Shardul Thakur or Washington Sundar be India’s No. 8? With Axar ruled out, India need to allocate his overs to someone else, preferably another spinner if the surface stays as expected. That makes Washington a favourite with his offbreaks a good match-up against Sri Lanka’s left-hand batters. But Washington only flew in from Bengaluru on Friday, and Shardul has been in Sri Lanka all along, making key contributions with the ball. India have an important call to make on match day.2:29

Can Sri Lanka cope without Theekshana in final?

Team news: Tilak in the final for India?

If India go with Thakur at No. 8, then Tilak Varma could be selected for his role as a third spin-bowling option.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 KL Rahul (wk), 5 Ishan Kishan/Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur/Washington Sundar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Jasprit BumrahFor Sri Lanka, legspinner Dushan Hemantha is the favourite to replace Theekshana. They could also bring in allrounder Sahan Arachchige, but Hemantha has stronger bowling credentials. Kusal Perera should keep his place in the XI.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 8 Dunith Wellalage, 9 Dushan Hemantha, 10 Matheesha Pathirana, 11 Kasun RajithaRelated

• Clinical meets chaos as India and Sri Lanka prepare to put on a show

• Dasun Shanaka cherishes 'amazing' fans as Sri Lanka seek back-to-back Asia Cup titles

• Charith Asalanka – SL's one-of-a-kind rescue package

• 'Playing it late and close to the body' – Gill puts his best feet forward

• SL's greatest hits: the five times they won the Asia Cup

Pitch and conditions: Plenty for the bowlers

This will be the sixth match in nine days at the R Premadasa Stadium, so a slow, turning surface is on the cards. However, the expected wet conditions could play a factor in how much the ball actually turns.

Stats and trivia: Win toss, bat first

• If Sri Lanka win, they will tie with India for the record of most (seven) Asia Cup titles.
• Only one bowler from a Full Member nation has taken as many wickets as Kuldeep Yadav (31) in 2023. Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, it is the injured Theekshana.
• The team batting first has won five of the six games in Colombo at the 2023 Asia Cup.

Quotes

“Winning the [Asia Cup] final is very important for us because we need to create a winning habit. Peaking at the right time and gaining momentum at the right time is important.”
India batter Shubman Gill after Friday’s Super Four game against Bangladesh“The boys want to deliver for the country. As a team, we have been underdogs. Everyone wants to perform at the bigger stage and these youngsters need to show the world what they are capable of. That’s the secret of this young team.”

Sri Lanka hit back with Babar’s wicket late in the day but Pakistan need just 120 runs to win

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Jul-2022For so much of the afternoon and the evening sessions, it seemed as if Pakistan were marching non-plussed towards their monumental target. Abdullah Shafique had hit as flawless a hundred as you could hope for on a fourth-day Galle surface. Babar Azam had been solid in partnership with him, and the stand was nearing a hundred.Best of all for Pakistan, Sri Lanka’s bowlers seemed to be getting very little out of a surface that should be a spin-bowling fantasy strip by now. But suddenly, around 75 overs through the innings, the pitch came to life. Shafique and Babar had only played and missed at the occasional delivery since tea, confidently padding plenty away, leaving the ones outside off alone, and getting enough bat to the rest that even half-chances were sparse.In the last 10 overs of the day though, Pakistan’s batters were suddenly under huge pressure. Though they had batted to get themselves within striking distance and put themselves ahead in the chase, the 120 to get at stumps seemed a distance off even with seven wickets in hand.They had batted exceedingly well to even give themselves a chance, however. Shafique led the effort and was unbeaten on 112 by stumps, frequently using his feet to create the single options, using the depth of the crease when the bowlers pitched slightly short, while using all the defensive manoeuvres against spin – padding away balls that pitched outside leg, letting the ones that weren’t threatening the stumps go. All up, he’d hit only 26 runs in boundaries – mostly legside fours and a six into the sightscreen. This was an innings built on patience and supreme confidence in his defence.Abdullah Shafique embraces Babar Azam after reaching his century•AFP/Getty Images

He’d set the platform with Imam-ul-Haq, as the openers took Pakistan to 87 for no loss. That partnership was not without its early jitters, however. Shafique could have been out lbw to Prabath Jayasuriya in the third over, but the review showed the ball failed to hit enough of leg stump to overturn the not-out decision. Imam then given out against Kasun Rajitha, but reviewed successfully – the ball projected to have been passing over the stumps. Not long after that, Imam sent a difficult catch over the infield as well, and a diving Dinesh Chandimal could not hold on, sprinting back from cover.That this stand was broken was more down to nifty wicketkeeping and batter error, than sustained pressure from the bowlers. Batting on 35, Imam raised his back foot after leaving a Ramesh Mendis delivery. In the fraction of a second Imam’s boot was in the air, Niroshan Dickwella whipped off a bail. The third umpire’s decision was several minutes and many replays in the making, but there was one angle, from side on, showing the boot to be clearly in the air. Azhar Ali then batted 32 balls but was caught at slip off Jayasuriya’s bowling.Where Shafique was measured through the course of his innings, Babar imposed himself on the opposition early in his knock. He announced his arrival with a whip through mid-on for four, then crashed a six and a four off over midwicket in one Jayasuriya over, to get Pakistan moving again after the loss of the second wicket. He too, though, soon settled into a pattern of accumulation, favouring the legside for his bigger shots. He had a desperate lbw review burned on him shortly before tea. He and Shafique seemed intent on doing it as risk-free as possible – 31 of Babar’s 55 came from singles, and there was a solitary two.Dimuth Karunaratne often likes to make batters face as many balls as possible at Galle, putting fielders on the boundary even early in their innings. The rationale here is that eventually, there will be a delivery that gets the batter out. Shafique and Babar defied this for 237 balls, during which they made 101 runs. Babar was eventually bowled trying to pad away Jayasuriya, who was coming over the wicket to pitch into the rough. He survived plenty that spun sharply from the dark spots, but late in the day, in the middle of that period in which the pitch suddenly started to spit, he didn’t quite get his front foot far enough to leg. Jayasuriya pitched it beyond the reach of his stride and turned it back into leg stump.Early in the day, Chandimal added eight to Sri Lanka’s overnight score, but missed out on a century when Naseem Shah burst through Prabath Jayasuriya’s defences.The match is now set for a tantalising final three hours. Pakistan are close. Sri Lanka have a new ball in hand, which tends to spit and spin more than the older ones. Shafique’s wicket seems like the vital one.

Batsman insists he can still do the job in the shortest format, even though he hasn’t always been in the running for selection

Mohammad Isam25-Mar-2021Ross Taylor has said that he has eyes on the T20 World Cup later this year even though he hasn’t featured in the last two New Zealand squads in this format. He believes there is still enough time to return with the side set to play a lot of matches leading up to the main event in India.Taylor was speaking ahead of the third ODI against Bangladesh in Wellington, having been passed fit following a hamstring injury that kept him out of the first two games.”I think I’ve still got ambitions on the T20 World Cup,” Taylor said. “I think there’s still a lot to go. The selectors have wanted to give these guys the opportunity which is fair enough. This is a good format, especially in New Zealand, for getting these guys into international cricket, if they are not going to play a lot of ODI and Test cricket. T20 is the logical way of bringing them into the side.”In the last two years, Taylor has played 14 out of New Zealand’s 24 T20Is. He made 166 runs with two fifties against India last year, but saw his batting position go to new players like Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips. Taylor said that he was surprised to be dropped from the New Zealand team for the T20I series against Australia, and now Bangladesh. He got to play only four deliveries during the T20I series against West Indies in November last year.”It was a bit of a surprise, getting player of the year and facing four balls. I am not going to lie. You have respect their decision that this is a format to give the guys an opportunity to play.”I feel age is just a number. I am able to do a job that’s required. There’s a lot of cricket to be played in the winter. I will be around somewhere,” he said.After the Bangladesh T20I series at home, New Zealand are likely to play against Pakistan and Bangladesh again during their winter, ahead of the T20 World Cup. On Wednesday, New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said that they haven’t yet ruled Taylor out entirely from their T20 plans.”(New Zealand coach) Gary (Stead) has been working really closely and talking with Ross. Ross sits in behind those current group of incumbents that we’ve got now,” Larsen told stuff.co.nz. “As we said when we didn’t pick Ross originally it was a really tough decision and I’ll say that again because we know his pedigree and the quality. We know and Ross has stated to us that he’s still keen and he thinks he can still contribute. From our side as selectors that’s great. We always take the approach of ‘never say never’. We know he’s sitting there and if we needed to call for Ross then we know he’d be jumping out of his skin.”

Shakib the batsman or Shakib the bowler – who needs to be replaced as priority?

Sidharth Monga in Delhi01-Nov-20194:24

Shakib’s absence is a big loss to us – Russell Domingo

The best allrounder in the world. Bangladesh’s best player ever. Friend. Mentor. At times, the voice of Bangladesh cricket. Two players in one. Now banned because he didn’t report suspect approaches, something you are obliged and taught to do. As the Bangladesh team began its preparations for the tough tour of India, coming to terms with the loss of Shakib Al Hasan was a long way away.For starters, there are disappointed team-mates, for whom Shakib was a role model. Coach Russell Domingo hasn’t even worked properly with Shakib yet, but he can see it in the dressing room.”Everyone is a bit disappointed,” Domingo said. “I don’t think I should be talking too much about it. I’ve been here for a month, and I’ve known Shakib for a month. The relationships the players have with him are a lot deeper than I’ve got because I don’t know him well. But the players speak very highly of him, have a lot of respect for him, admire the way he goes about his business, his performances. Now he’s made a mistake, he’s paying the price.”Shakib is banned for two years, one of which is suspended. That means he will be out for one year, and there is no telling how he will be accepted when he comes back. “One year in cricketing terms is a long time,” Domingo said. “I haven’t even thought about it; how Shakib gets in the game, back into the team, it’s something that hasn’t crossed my mind. It hasn’t crossed anybody’s mind.”He has been a big player for Bangladesh. Very close friends with a lot of the players, so it’s obviously affected some of the players. He has made a mistake and he is paying the price for it. There’s not too much that we can say about it. It’s not something we can control or something that affects us too much at the moment. It obviously affects the team in terms of his performances, but our mindset and our focus will be entirely on the series and the [T20] World Cup in 12 months’ time.”When it comes to performances, Domingo admitted any replacement for Shakib would leave the team one player light. “Shakib bats at No. 3, often opens the bowling or bowls first change,” Domingo pointed out. “He bowls four overs every single game. He’s one of our leading batters. Do I replace the batter or replace the bowler? Because it’s very difficult; he plays both. There aren’t too many players who provide you with both skills.”So you might find yourself short in one department, and strengthening the other department. Depending on the conditions, if it’s a flat wicket, you want to strengthen your bowling. If you think there’s a little bit in for the wicket you might as well strengthen your batting. So, it would very much depend on the conditions. I don’t think there’s anyone earmarked who’s specifically going to do Shakib’s job. Everyone’s going to try to contribute and fill up the numbers as best he possibly can.”India will go into the series without their usual captain Virat Kohli, but Domingo was of the view that Shakib was just as big, if not bigger, a miss for Bangladesh. “There’s no Virat, [at the same time] there’s no Shakib,” Domingo said when asked of the advantage Kohli’s absence might give his side. “So, there’s an advantage for India with no Shakib, and there’s an advantage for Bangladesh with no Virat.”

Surrey took another significant step on their way towards a first Championship title since 2002 as they bowled Essex out for 126 and enforced the follow-on at Chelmsford

Matt Roller at Chelmsford05-Sep-20181:45

Drama at Taunton as Somerset and Lancashire tie

ScorecardSurrey took another significant step on their way towards a first Championship title since 2002 as they bowled Essex out for 126 and enforced the follow-on at Chelmsford.With Somerset’s game against Lancashire ending in a spectacular tie as they failed to chase 78 on a turning pitch at Taunton, Surrey will go 43 points clear at the top if they complete victory here, and if this performance from their bowlers is anything to go by, they may not even have to bat again.Their four-pronged seam attack of Morne Morkel, Tom Curran, Rikki Clarke and Conor McKerr shared ten wickets between them, and it was Clarke who did most of the damage. In a nine-over spell from the River End he removed Ravi Bopara, Ryan ten Doeschate, Tom Westley and Simon Harmer to quash any hopes of an Essex recovery after they had slumped to 20 for 3.Clarke moved the ball considerably in the air, finding late swing and benefiting from the variable bounce on offer – a handful deliveries shot up off the pitch – as he rattled through the middle-order in conditions that could hardly have suited his medium-fast seamers better; the sun did not so much as threaten to escape behind a sheet of clouds, and bad light and drizzle brought proceedings to an end only seven overs after tea.As much as Surrey’s season will be remembered for Rory Burns’ runs and Morkel’s fearsome mid-season form, it is impossible to overlook Clarke’s contribution. He now has 37 Championship wickets at a shade over 20, to go with 392 runs and 13 catches; he turns 37 at the end of this season, and not even his most ardent supporters could have predicted the transformative effect he would have on this side when his move from Warwickshire was confirmed last season.Clarke also added useful runs in the morning session in an enterprising innings of 56. After pulling his first ball for a nonchalant four, he offered stubborn resistance in bowler-friendly conditions alongside Curran, before clubbing 26 runs off his final 13 balls as he ran out of partners.It was a largely brutish innings, with a couple of orthodox slogs down the ground for six, but he threw in a deft reverse-sweep and an elegant cut as if only to prove how malleable his game is.Rikki Clarke produced a penetrative burst•Getty Images

While Essex will attribute their surrender to poor shots and a batting order that has not fired all season, Surrey were irresistible with the ball. Curran and Morkel were hostile in their opening spells, as their accounted for Nick Browne, Varun Chopra, and Dan Lawrence, before Clarke ran through the middle order and McKerr mopped up the tail.On the day that Alastair Cook’s new three-year deal at the club was confirmed, Chopra must have felt disappointed with his dismissal, caught well by (guess who?) Clarke in the slips playing a flashy drive at a ball he had no need to play. He now averages 16.7 this season; when Cook returns, he looks like the man most likely to drop out.Tom Westley, another Essex batsman struggling for runs, was the only one in the top eight to reach double figures, and fought hard before falling one short of just a second half-century of the season.Westley was not at his fluent best – as was the case in his gritty 56 at Taunton and in last week’s win over Hampshire – but he was organised, determined, and creamed a pair of cover drives for four in the space of three Curran balls. He looks to have benefitted from the decision to leave him out of the second half of Essex’s Blast campaign, and will hope that he can find his best form before the season’s close.The tag of champions-elect can loom over a team at this stage of the season, but Surrey look good value for it. Their visit to Taunton in the penultimate round of games had been highlighted as a possible title-decider – and they can expect another lively wicket if the Championship race is still alive – but wins here and at New Road next week would effectively wrap the pennant up.On the basis of this performance, it would be impossible to argue that they have not been good value for it.

Faf du Plessis wants Kagiso Rabada to stay fierce and fiery and thinks cricket is poorer following his sanction. Rabada will miss the second Test at Trent Bridge after earning the suspension

Firdose Moonda10-Jul-2017Despite earning a sanction for a shove and a vociferous send-off, Kagiso Rabada does not need to tone down his aggression. That’s the message from Test captain Faf du Plessis, who is on three demerit points himself after shining the ball with saliva that had also come into contact with a mint during the series against Australia last year, and who has taken a grim view of the ICC’s code-of-conduct protocols in the past.Not only would du Plessis like to see a clearer definition for the artificial substances that are not allowed to come into contact with the ball but he also wants Rabada to stay fierce and fiery and thinks cricket is poorer following his sanction. Rabada will miss the second Test at Trent Bridge after earning the suspension.”I would never say to KG change the way that you are. It’s important that he plays the way that he plays the game. Every guy within cricket needs your natural instinct and personality to come out because that creates the best you,” du Plessis said, after South Africa were defeated in his absence at Lord’s.Stand-in captain Dean Elgar revealed that Rabada had said sorry to senior management and felt he had let the team down with his behaviour but du Plessis said he did not expect Rabada to do any more. “I would never expect him to apologise to the team. For me that’s showing what you’re made of. He is showing that he wants to do desperately well for his country,” du Plessis saidHe also does not expect Rabada to change the way he approaches the game, saying the isolated incident in which he swore at Ben Stokes was simply a moment of frustration for a bowler who did not have things going his way and was not a personal attack on the batsman involved. In fact, du Plessis believes Stokes is capable of dishing out much of the same medicine and has even given him a nickname to reflect his on-field anger.Kagiso Rabada earned a fourth demerit point for giving Ben Stokes a send-off•Getty Images

“I don’t think it was anything to do with Ben. I think it was a little bit of frustration from KG. He didn’t have the rhythm that he wanted to and it was just frustration coming through,” du Plessis said. “I played with Ben and I can tell you he is just as fiery and that’s what makes him so competitive and so skillful. I called him ‘The Dragon’ in the IPL because he breathes fire when he gets angry. That’s important, when you have characters to come through like that. That’s what I say about KG. Not for one second must he lose that.”South Africa have lost Rabada for the second Test though and du Plessis, like Elgar, thinks both the team and the fans will miss out. “It’s a big disappointment for us not having him. It’s a shame. He is a real big part of this team. In big Test series like this you want to see your big Test players compete against each other,” he said.Rabada should be back for the third match at The Kia Oval and du Plessis hopes Rabada will pick up where he left off at Lord’s, but perhaps be a little more mindful of saying things a safe distance away from the stump mic.”When you play Test cricket you are fighting for your country and you are doing everything you can to win a game of cricket. Controlled emotion is really important. For me, it’s the most important thing as long as it doesn’t take you away from your skill. KG doesn’t do that, that was just frustration,” du Plessis said. “I know his personality. He is a very relaxed and quiet guy. He hardly ever swears at the batsmen in the times we’ve played together. That was purely just frustration.”

On the eve of the match against Kolkata Knight Riders, Rising Pune Supergiants coach Stephen Fleming describe his side’s situation as “unusual” and “uncertain”

Nagraj Gollapudi13-May-2016″What we are not doing is winning cricket.””We don’t have the nucleus of players who have played together.””We’re using up all those free lives.””I was pretty angry with the way things went today so my morale needs a bit of boost.”These statements from Stephen Fleming, coach of Rising Pune Supergiants, underline his thoughts on the side’s downward spiral in their first IPL. The pain of defeat is one thing, but having to face the same questions at different venues over the past month might have been just as difficult for the former New Zealand captainAt one point Fleming was angry, but then he realised neither he nor MS Dhoni, the Supergiants captain, could do anything more than ask their players to simply compete.Four of the first-choice overseas players returned home injured within the first three weeks of the tournament. Last week Tamil Nadu legspinner M Ashwin was declared unfit due to a side strain. Add to that the absence of a home base, after the Bombay High Court moved matches scheduled for May out of Maharashtra. Home games are not just about the comfort factor, but familiarity with conditions and crowd support are often advantages for teams in the race for the playoffs.On the eve of the match against Kolkata Knight Riders, Fleming called Supergiants’ position “unusual” and “uncertain”.”We just couldn’t quite get across the line,” he said. “That little bit of confidence, being able to be a bit settled. Those would have been nice things to have. But, look, (that is) not to be. We can only talk about what could have been. It is unusual. It is disappointing for all concerned. We just haven’t been able to win the key moments. We have taken all top teams to the last over, last ball. We have just come up short. Not down and out, but just disappointed that we couldn’t turn things our way.”A loss to Knight Riders would erase Supergiants’ remote mathematical chance of a playoff spot and once things move into the post-mortem stage, Dhoni’s leadership is bound to be scrutinised. His relations with lead spinner R Ashwin, who has struggled for form, is already a talking point this season, given that the offspinner has not bowled his full quota in five out of eleven matches.At Chennai Super Kings, Ashwin was one of the biggest weapons for Dhoni, and could be brought on at any stage of the innings. When Ashwin failed, Dhoni could rely on other match-winners like Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo, and Brendon McCullum in 2014 and 2015. Those three players are now the core of the second new IPL franchise, Gujarat Lions.According Fleming, Dhoni has always led settled units, both at India and Super Kings. With Supergiants, on the other hand, he has had to deal with depleted resources and a new set of players who need to time to bond.”When you are a captain who is looking to get everything out of your team, you push very hard. That is not something MS has had to do a lot,” Fleming said. “He has had a very settled Indian side. He had a very settled Chennai Super Kings side. So this has been a good challenge in some ways that we have enjoyed, but again we are disappointed that we haven’t been able to get the results we would have liked.”That his team was still competitive was down to the bench strength and that was a positive, Fleming said.”We have been able to compete and we have good bench strength. Whilst we didn’t get across the line, the performances and the competitiveness of the team stay the same. That is a positive. That is something we are looking to take forward to next year. A few tweaks here and there and a little bit of fortune, then, may be, we are a team on top of the table and not bottom.”

Debutant Matthew Fisher fired Yorkshire to an opening-night NatWest T20 Blast win over Derbyshire at Headingley with a stunning five-wicket haul under the new floodlights

ECB/PA15-May-2015
ScorecardMatt Fisher shone under the floodlights at Headingley•Getty Images

Debutant Matthew Fisher fired Yorkshire to an opening-night NatWest T20 Blast win over Derbyshire at Headingley with a stunning five-wicket haul under the new floodlights.Seventeen-year-old Fisher joined Rich Pyrah and Jack Brooks as the only Yorkshire players to take five wickets in a 20-over match as the Falcons were bowled out for 128 inside 19 overs on the way to a seven-wicket defeat with 20 balls remaining.Fisher struck twice through the middle of the innings as Derbyshire, invited to bat, slipped from 66 for 1 in the ninth to 81 for 6 in the 13th, a loss of 5 for 15 in 25 balls. South African Hashim Amla top-scored with 29, but him falling caught at cover off Pyrah hurt the Falcons badly.A crowd of 5,953 saw Fisher record 5 for 22 from 3.2 overs before watching third-wicket pair Andrew Gale and Jonny Bairstow impress in Yorkshire’s chase with 41 off 36 balls and 40 not out off 35.Tim Bresnan, Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid all struck once for the Vikings, while Pyrah added an excellent 2 for 13 from his four overs. His wickets were part of the mid-innings collapse.

Insights

Matthew Fisher has been tipped as an England fast bowler before he has barely bowled a ball in anger for Yorkshire. “I think he is going to be an unbelievable bowler,” said Tim Bresnan after his introduction to Championship cricket against Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire in early season, voicing what may had quietly believed from the outset.
Bresnan said: “He is 17 years old, and he is swinging it both ways at 85mph and has a sharp bouncer as well. He looks a really good prospect.” His five wickets against Derbyshire, at only 17, will only encourage that belief. Not a bowler to be targeted clearly. Fisher joined Rich Pyrah and Jack Brooks as the only Yorkshire players to take five wickets in a 20-over match – and the first, naturally, to achieve it under Headingley’s new floodlights
David Hopps

Fisher became the youngest post-war county cricketer when he debuted in a one-day match aged 15 in 2013, and he made his first Championship appearance earlier this summer.He is currently out of consideration for four-day cricket due to A-Level exams, but he passed this test under lights with flying colours.”It’s been great under the lights here with a bumper crowd,” he said. “We didn’t get off to a great start – we didn’t get our line and length right. But then I got the call, and I tried to hit my lines and went from there.”It’s been a really good start to the season for me. I haven’t expected to play Championship or T20 cricket. The England lads have come back, and I didn’t think I’d play this game with the calibre that’s in the squad but Jason Gillespie’s shown faith in me, and I’ve paid him back.”Fisher broke a dangerous second-wicket partnership of 39 between Amla and Chesney Hughes (27) with his second ball by getting the latter caught at point. He then trapped Shiv Thakor lbw in his second over before returning to get two wickets in the 17th over as Derbyshire slipped to 115 for 8.He had Alex Hughes caught and bowled and Tom Poynton (27) caught behind at either end of the over, and he wrapped up the innings at the start of his fourth over by getting Ben Cotton caught and bowled running towards cover.Cotton bowled Andrew Hodd for a golden duck two balls into Yorkshire’s reply. Alex Lees then sliced Mark Footitt to third man in the fifth over, leaving the score at 31 for 2, but Yorkshire’s win was rarely in doubt.Gale and Bairstow put on 69 inside nine overs, taking three sixes off former Yorkshire spinner David Wainwright in the 13th over.

Matthew Hayden scored 380 on the second day at Perth, surpassing Brian Lara’s Test record of 375, as Australia finally declared on 735 for 6

Lynn McConnell07-Sep-2012Close, 2nd day

Scorecard

Matthew Hayden once said the stimulation he received from hitting a cricket ball – and hitting it well – would never wane. Zimbabwe found that out the hard way today as Hayden put every other Test match batting record in the shade en route to an unforgettable 380. The day revolved around his remarkable achievement to such an extent that it was almost forgotten that Australia amassed 735 for 6, the highest total in 126 years of cricket on Australian soil, before taking pity on Zimbabwe’s bowlers.To their credit, Zimbabwe made a brave fist of it in the final session, reaching 61 before Jason Gillespie blasted a ball through Dion Ebrahim’s defence to bowl him for 29. By stumps, there were 79 for one wicket, still a small ocean short of the 536 needed to avoid the follow-on.But whatever be your perspective, this was Hayden’s day, as he once again revealed the hunger of the late starter. Not only did he surpass the 375 scored by Brian Lara against England at Antigua in 1993-94, but he became only the second Australian to score a triple century on home soil – something beyond even a certain Donald George Bradman. His energy levels never ebbed, and 400 was a distinct possibility – especially after Steve Waugh decided to let the batsmen come back out after tea – when he pulled a ball from Trevor Gripper to backward square leg, where Stuart Carlisle took a low tumbling catch.The record was just reward for a batsman who has been the outstanding performer of the 21st century, and with four Tests still to play in the calendar year, Hayden finds himself well within reach of 1000 runs – he has 837 after this epic – in a year for the third successive time.

The straight drive proved a reliable, and punishing, weapon throughout his innings. There were also flashing cuts and disdainful pulls aplenty. With the attack enfeebled to such an extent that they appeared to be on some mediocre auto-pilot, Hayden was also more inclined to loft the ball straight. He ended his innings having struck 11 sixes, one short of equalling Wasim Akram’s world record.Hayden’s inexorable progress past successive milestones meant that Adam Gilchrist’s truly remarkable cameo – if you can call a century that – was relegated to the shade. He finished with 113 not out – his ninth Test century – perhaps the only time in the history of the game that an 84-ball hundred has had to play second fiddle. Gilchrist did manage some crumbs of comfort from the record-breaking table, as both batsmen made over a hundred runs between lunch and tea.Hayden, who had also scored a century between tea and stumps yesterday, joined Walter Hammond – who achieved the feat against New Zealand at Auckland in 1932-33 – as the only man to do that twice in the same innings.Sean Ervine may have achieved his career-best figures with four wickets, but they came at a cost of 146 runs. Gripper, who dropped Hayden at midwicket, when he offered his only chance at 335, finished with 2 for 142, as five bowlers went for over 100 runs.The only thing that Zimbabwe managed to do right was to deny Steve Waugh the unique honour of having scored a hundred at each of Australia’s contemporary Test grounds. Waugh had been untroubled on his way to 78, but Sean Ervine got one to catch the inside edge and rebound high into the air off the pad, following up well enough to snaffle a difficult chance.The rest of the day was all about one man’s tryst with history. Hayden has often professed to a fondness for fly-fishing, and today, the bait he used snared the biggest fish of them all. Goodbye Brian Lara, hello Matthew Hayden – king of the batting mountain.